Method and apparatus for setting a casing structure in a well hole or the like



Jan. 22, 1952 Q E, BANNlsTER 2,583,316 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SETTING A CASING STRUCTURE IN A WELL HOLE OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 9, 1947 INVENTOR. CL YDE E. BHN/V/STE Patented Jan. 22, 1952 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SETTING A CASING STRUCTURE IN A WELL HOLE OR THE LIKE 4 Clyde E. Bannister, Houston, Tex. Application December 9, 1947, Serial No. 790,560

This invention relates to procedure and apparatus for placing a casing in a well hole or the like, as for shoring off and/or sealing off a stratum of sand or other formation through which an oil-well hole extends and which otherwise would cave into, or deliver water into, the hole.

Its chief objects are to provide procedure and apparatus which will make unnecessary the now commonly employed expensive expedient of setting a complete string of casing, from the top of the hole to a point, below the sand and to provide economy, facility and rapidity in the attainment of the desired result.

0fy the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation, with parts sectioned andt'broken away, of apparatus embodying and adapted for the practice of my invention' in its preferred form.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2--2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. l.

I attain the above stated objects by lowering an expansible casing structure into the hole, expanding it outward against the formation, and securing it in its expanded condition, preferably with a stretchable, imperforate jacket upon it for sealing off water.

This can be done either after a preliminary reaming of the hole from a position above to a position below a sand stratum, for example, or without such reaming, as my casing structure can have a wall of such small radial thickness as to not lessen greatly the minimum clearance in the hole.

In the accomp-anying drawings, a sand stratum l.

is shown at A and rock strata above and below it are shown at B and C respectively. The part of the hole shown in Fig. 1 can, as stated, be either a reamed out part or an unreamed part of the hole.

The apparatus here shown, as preassembled at the top of the ground and then lowered in the hole, comprises an elongated, fluid-distensible bag Il) adapted to be supported in the hole by, and to receive pressure fluid from, a hose II extending from a source of pressure fluid (not shown) at the top of the well. This bag preferably is formed of rubber or the like and reinforced with cords I2, I2 which, in its side walls at least, extend only lengthwise of the bag, so that the bag, while being freely stretchable to a larger circumference, will have little or no stretchability lengthwise.

The end walls of the bag preferably are dome shaped, as shown, for sustaining the internal pressure in tension, and are made strong by a plurality of plies of the reinforcing cords, I2, I2, as-shown in the sectioned portion of the lower end wall. At its center the lower end wall is formed with a hole occupied by a hollow rubber 's claims. (ci. 16s-4) 2. plug I3 adapted to be forced out and thus open the hole when a very high pressure is applied to the interior of the bag, to relieve the internal pressure and permit the bag to retract and to expel liquid as it is 'withdrawn from the well hole.

Assembled upon and surrounding the bag is a set of segmental, corrugated sheet-metal, casing sections I4, I4 and I5, I5,.here shown as three equally spaced sections, I4, I4, lying in Contact with the outer-2 face of the bag, and three other sections, I5, I5, overlapping, and in their overlapped marginal portions fitting against the complementally corrugated outer faces of, the sections I4, I4.

For holding the sections in such assembled relation to the bag, endless rubberbands I6, I6 or the like are mounted under tension vupon the set of casing sections, each preferably in a valley of the corrugations, and are strong enough to cause the casing sections to be supported by their frictional grip upon the bag.

For providing adequate resistance to collapse or deformation in the assembling' of the casing sections upon it, the bag can have a wall of sufficient thickness to be self-sustaining against the forces involved, or it can be held to proper shape and diameter by a moderate fluid pressure within it.

To limit outward movement of the sections when the bag is distended for pushing them out against the formation, 4each of the inner sections, I4, has riveted to it, along each of its vertical margins, a spaced set of spring latches I "I, I'I, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3, preferably in valleys of the corrugations. Each latch has, at its outer end, overlapped upon the margin of the adjacent section I5, an inwardly projecting' stud I adapted to ride uponthe outer face of the section I5 until it reaches a hole I9 formed in the said margin, and then to snap into the hole under the force of the spring Il. The parts are so proportioned that at that vtime the overlapped margins of the; two sections clear each other and, instead of being overlapped, come into flush relation to each other, with their edge faces `in position to abut each other to provide an arch effect for resisting inward movement of them by pressure of the formation.

Thus any pair of margins, or parts thereof, rst attaining the relationship just described, are locked against further relative movement, and further expansion of the bag brings other pairs of margins, or parts of margins, in succession, into locked relationship to each other, until all of the pairs of margins, or at least parts of each pair of margins, are so interlocked as to prevent collapse of the structure as a whole by pressure of the formation.

The stretchable, imperforate jacket for sealing off water is here shown as a cellular rubber tube 29, having imperforate surface skins.: It is mounted upon the underlying 'members with sufficient tension to support it thereon. An advantage of employing a cellular rubber tube for this,

When the apparatus has been lowered to the; proper position and the casing structure, including the 'sealing jacket, has been expanded and thus set in the hole, as above described, by increase of pressure in the bag, still greater pressure is applied to the fluid in the bag to cause the hollow rubber plug I3 to buckle and be driven out of the hole in the lower end wall of the bag. This permits the bag to retractto its original size so as to .be withdrawable from the expanded and set casing, and When the opening of the hole has occurred, vas indicated by -a lessening of the pump load or line pressure at the top of the well, the upper end of the hose El is shut 01T from the source of pressure and is opened to the atmosphere. This permits the hose and the bag to empty themselves as they are withdrawn from the Well hole, so that the hose -can be empty as it is wound upon a reel.

For the next job another plug is inserted in the hole in the lower end ofthe bag and the plug, being hollow, is lof such form that, although it has a head to withstand a suitable amount of pressure in the bag, can be readily inserted from the exterior of the bag by temporarily buckling it by lateral pressure.

Various modications are possible without sacrice of all of the advantages set out in the above statement of objects and without departure from the scope of the invention as dened in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. The method of permanently sealing off a wall of a well hole or the like which comprises presenting to said wall a tubular member having substantially the stretchability of rubber, stretching it into pressure contact with said wall, and

securing it in that condition and relationship by fixing in permanently expanded condition Within said tubular member a sectional expanding casing having a through passage and being open a-t both ends.

2. The method of permanently setting a casing structure in a well hole whichcomprises lowering into the hole a tubular member of cellular material having substantially the stretchability and compressibility of sponge rubber, expandingv it into pressure contact with the wall of the hole, and securing it in its expanded condition by fixing in permanently expanded condition Within said tubular member a sectional expanding casing having a through passage and being open at both ends.

3. The method of setting a casing structure in a well hole which comprises mounting an expansible casing structure upon a luid-distensible bag of which a circumferential zone has substantially the stretchability of rubber, lowering this assembly into the hole, expanding the casing structure into pressure contact with the wall of the hole by means or fluid pressure Within the bag, securing the casing structure in its expanded condition and removing the bag from the well hole.

4. Apparatus of the character described comprising a tubular member having substantially the stretchability of rubber, means for stretching it into pressure contact with a Wall to be shored, and, for permanently securing said member in that condition and relationship, a sectional expanding casing having a through passage and being open at both ends.

5. Apparatus of the character described comprising a tubular member of cellular material having substantially the stretchability and cornpressbility of sponge rubber, means for lowering it into a Well hole, means for expanding it into pressure contact with the wall of the hole, and, for securing it in its expanded condition, a sectional expanding casing having a through passage vand being open at both ends.

6. Apparatus. of the character described comprising an expansible through-passage casing structure, means for lowering it into a well hole, means Within it adapted to be lowered into the well with it for expanding it into pressure contact with the wall of the hole, and, for securing it in its expanded condition, a sectional expanding casing having a through passage and being open at both ends, the expanding means comprising a iiuiddistensible elastic bag withdrawable from the casing structure upon being retracted by venting4 of fluid from it. f

7. Apparatus of the character described comprising an expansible through-passage casing structure open at both ends, means for expanding it against a Wall to be shored, and means for securing it in its expanded condition, said casing structure Comprising an expansible inner through-passage structure open at both ends and an impervious sheet of material overlying the same and having substantially the stretch'ability of rubber.

8. Apparatus of the character described comprising an expansible through-passage casing structure, means for lowering it into a well hole, means for expanding it into pressure contact with the Wall of the hole, 'means for securing it in its expanded condition, the expanding means comprising a iluid-distensible bag withdrawable from the casing structure upon being retracted by venting of iiuid from it, and escape-valve means for relieving fluid pressure within it upon the attainment of a determinate pressure of the fluid. -7

CLYDE E. BANNISTERH REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the nie of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,455,380 Meister -.-en -ced Dec. '7, 1948 

